


Art and History

by EverFascinated, Nenagh24 (EverFascinated)



Series: Fictober 2020 [8]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fictober 2020, Fluff, Future Fic, I meant to make it hurt comfort but fluff came out instead, Immortality, Like very future, Modern Era, Museums, Reunions, What a tag combo, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26900689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverFascinated/pseuds/EverFascinated, https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverFascinated/pseuds/Nenagh24
Summary: While art in it's many forms is a great way to capture a moment in time, sometimes having physical reminder of the past can make the life difficult, especially when one is immortal.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: Fictober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947883
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	Art and History

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Runic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runic/gifts).



Byleth pulls her jacket a little closer around herself. It's not as cold in here as it is outside, but it's obvious that the building's temperature is set for a larger crowd then they've got today. With the place almost deserted, she's finding it a bit chilly for her tastes.

The fully orchestrated holiday music playing over the speakers is quiet even in the vaulted rooms, providing just the right amount of background noise for casual viewings. She takes a moment to enjoy the familiar tune as she inspects the pop art on the wall. Where once the only way to hear such things was at a concert or as part of a church sermon, now high quality music is available just about everywhere, whenever it's needed. 

How far technology has come. 

It still catches Byleth by surprise, especially so after she experiences those vivid dreams of the past. She’ll wake up reaching for her sword, for her strikers, for him…

She bites her lip and moves on to the next exhibit, her shoes clicking slowly across the tiled floor as she goes.

Suffice to say that the realization of _when_ she is doesn't take long these days. Not when her life is so different.

Not a bad different, she allows in the quiet of her own mind. Most of the changes are improvements. Electricity, running water, and proper sanitization are prime examples.

The future's just missing a couple of things. Some very important things. Sighing quietly to herself, Byleth crosses her arms and tries to push her maudlin thoughts away. 

It has been a long time, but today is supposed to be happy. She refuses to let the past weigh her down.

Stepping into the next room Byleth pauses. She doesn’t get a chance to come here often, but when did they update this room? Eyes wide, she tries to catalogue the changes.

The room is the same size, obviously. Not large, barely having enough room to fit all of the displays really, yet overall it feels more cozy than cramped. There are paintings covering the walls, but she can't say what they contain because the focal point of the room has stolen her attention.

It can't be.

For such a small room, it feels like it takes her forever to reach the bust that set up as the centerpiece. 

Carved from marble with the greatest of care, a familiar face smiles up at her. Her eyes feel like they can't stay still as they jump around trying to find some flaw, something that would mark it as a replica. There aren't any. It's even missing that one jewel on the headpiece that was lost centuries ago. The rest are still embedded perfectly, the band shining merrily on a head of hair that she still can't get to behave even now. 

It’s her.

Byleth is suddenly relieved that everyone else is too busy buying holiday gifts or preparing for parties to swing by a small museum this close to the holidays, because there is no hiding the resemblance. 

Or her tears. She chuckles wetly to herself. How long has it been since she'd seen this?

Decades at least.

Low heeled boots echo faintly, barely audible above the music and approaching her from behind. Hiding her face in a tissue, Byleth hunches her shoulders and lets her hair fall forward to try and keep any awkward revelations from occurring.

The newcomer strolls up beside her before stopping.

“Well, that certainly wasn’t my intention.” Comes a familiar voice. 

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting the tissue wick away the fresh tears. Once she’s composed herself she looks up at the dark man standing beside her.

“Surprise?” Claude offers almost hesitantly, tilting his head a little to meet her eyes directly.

Tears spring back to her eyes against her will. Her heart is in her throat - in his hands where it has always belonged - so she can only offer a shaky smile in return.

His face softens and he turns to face her fully, arms reaching for her automatically before he visibly stops himself.

That won’t do at all.

Lurching forward, Byleth catches him around the middle and nearly sets him off balance with the force of her embrace. He steadies them both before returning her hug, pressing a kiss into her hair.

With her eyes closed it’s almost like they're back there. Back when the fighting was still going on, back when they were rebuilding after it stopped, back when she didn’t have to worry about who saw them.

She takes a deep breath and basks in his warmth for the first time in a long time. It's clear that Claude feels the same if the way his hands keep brushing up and down her back are anything to go by.

“I’m not doing that again.” He says fiercely, apropos of nothing.

Byleth understands his point anyway. Two decades is a long time even for them. The realistic answer of 'we may need to' hangs in the air, but neither of them voice it.

“Really?” Is what she asks instead, his chest muffling the question before she pulls back just enough to look up at him. “Then you should probably hide this whole room from the world.”

“Aww, come on. You don’t like my work?” He pouts a little before looking back at the bust. “I think I did okay.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s beautiful.” She shakes him a little from where she is still latched on to his waist. Everything about him is beautiful and she is more than happy to be able to tell him so again. “But it’s also very accurate and can be traced back to the century you made it in.”

Smirking, he looks down at her and she just knows what’s going to follow that up. Byleth rolls her eyes before he even opens his mouth to say it.

“So what you’re saying is that I’m  _ too _ good.”

Called it. She gives him a flat look in return.

“Yes. Now put it away before we both have to go dark for another twenty years to let the suspicion die down again.”

“But you haven’t even seen the best part!” He turns in her arms, leaving one of his own slung around her shoulders to start guiding her towards the walls.

More specifically, the very familiar art on the walls.

“Claude.” The name is disbelieving and a warning all at once, but his grin doesn’t even falter. “You didn’t.”

Please let this be some kind of vivid hallucination. She tightens her grip on him. An extremely tactile, vivid hallucination.

“I did.” He confirms, sweeping his free arm to showcase the paintings displayed proudly on the walls. “I always told you they belonged in a museum.”

Byleth looks at the colorful rendition of her father’s sketch for the current month and immediately picks out three mistakes she made while painting it. She moves one of her hands from his suit jacket to cover her eyes.

“Nooo,” she groans, peeking out to check if the others are also on display. 

They are.

“How could you?” She presses close once again to hide her face in his shoulder. “At least let me paint better ones before putting them up!”

Byleth had centuries of practice now. Surely they would be leagues better than these. She’d barely graduated to paints instead of charcoal when she’d made them all those years ago.

Her muffled statement must have been understandable enough because Claude’s chest rumbles with laughter in response.

“No can do, I’m afraid.” A hand comes up to stroke at her hair as he explains, “These are collectors pieces. It took a bit of doing to get the whole set in one place, you know?”

She tilts her head back to look at him. The glare feels more like a pout on her face, but she’s not truly upset enough to be angry at him.

"I can't believe you bought the museum."

"You never told me I couldn't." Claude reminds her. "Besides, how else was I supposed to ensure that it'd still be here for us to meet up in if I didn't take a special interest in it?"

"We have almost ten backup points." She points out, trying to hide her smile at how ridiculous he is. "Including a monument and a _mountain_."

"You love it."

She loves _him_. Everything else is just a bonus.

“The bust still needs to go.” The line has to be drawn somewhere and they don't need another immortality conspiracy theory to go viral. Byleth is tired of waking up alone.

“I know,” Claude admits. “It was really just there for today so that you could see it. I’ll get it packed up this afternoon.”

That earns him another smile.

“Good.”

“Besides, why would I need that when I have the real thing right here?” His arms find their way back home, pulling Byleth in and she leans up to meet his lips with hers.

Years, decades, _centuries_ they’ve been doing this and yet it always feels like they’ve just begun.

Her heart soars and she smiles into the kiss.

After a long moment and all too quickly they pull away. Their eyes are bright as they smile at one another and they both take the time to quietly appreciate the other.

Eventually, Claude sighs.

“We better head out there to meet the others before they send in a search party.”

“It’s already been so long,” Byleth muses, wiggling one arm up to run her fingers through his dark curls. She applies a little pressure to the back of his head to bring him back down to her level. “I don’t think another minute or two will kill them.”

His chuckle is warm against her lips.

“I think you might be right about that.”

She smiles and closes the distance between them once more.

Even here, surrounded by mementos, she finds that she enjoys living in the present far more than dreaming of the past.

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to Runic for giving me a little direction with these prompts because sometimes the Fictober prompts so easily fit into multiple fandoms that I get paralyzed by my options lol
> 
> As for who else is immortal - why, everyone you like and no one you don't, obviously. They were granted it because reasons!
> 
> Prompt: I’m not doing that again


End file.
